1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas spring useful to conduct electric current between one or more pairs of electric terminals.
2. The Prior Art
Gas springs capable of conducting electric currents are known, as, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,509 and German Gebrauchsmuster No. 76 10 754. Such electrically conducting gas springs are especially useful in motor cars, where they can be attached to the car construction on the one hand and a movable lid, for example a motor hood or a trunk lid, on the other hand, so as to compensate for at least part of the weight of the lid and facilitate opening and closing of the lid. Frequently on such a movable lid there is provided an electric power consuming unit, such as a rear light, a trunk lighting unit, a windshield wiper or a license plate illuminating unit. In this case, the electrically conducting gas springs can also be used to transmit electric power from a power source provided on the car construction to the power consuming units on the lid. The gas springs described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,509 and GM No. 76 10 754, however, incorporate only a single current path across the spring elements, thereby limiting the number of power consuming units that the spring can feed to one. Other prior art gas spring arrangements have provided plural, independent current paths. One such gas spring is disclosed in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 24 21 007. Such prior art, plural path devices, however, have tended to be relatively complex or bulky or both, all of which detract from their suitability.